My wife and I live in the Northern VA suburbs - she, a retired USMC gunny, me- a corporate worker bee for the last 25+ years. As a Marine, she is pretty well versed and qualified on a variety of weapons, but never had one at home. I grew up in the South, and my exposure was limited to my grandmother's .22 rifle and double barrelled shotguns. Other than a few trips to the range when I was young (and an NRA safety class), that was the extend of my experience; I haven't owned a gun, ever. Until last weekend, that is - now that my wife and I are empty nesters, we decided to go ahead and look into getting handguns for home protection and/or enjoyment (casual shooters). We each did research, emphasis on reliability, accuracy, and comfort in the weapons, safety and security training for ourselves, as well as a safe and secure place to keep the weapons at home. This is the beginning of a journey together as responsible gun owners. Went to the Nations Gun Show in Chantilly last weekend (a packed event, no pun intended) - put our hands on many different guns, some we had researched - others we saw for the first time. She was pretty well fixed on getting an H&K compact (her hands are small) - and she wound up getting the H&K USP Compact 9mm. Quality, reliablity, good reputation. She said if she was going to invest, it would be in something made to last.

I was leaning toward a Walther, but at the show, I kept going back to a Tanfoglio TZ75 that was sitting on a table by itself - beautiful styling, nice weight, comfortable in the hand, but I knew nothing about them (I have learned plenty since). Moving along, my son-in-law, a happy Glock owner, was trying to steer me in that direction, but for reasons of personal taste, I just did not want a Glock. Period. Then, I spotted a brand spanking new IWI Baby Desert Eagle II. Solid build. Sleek. Like butter in the hand. Research came back extremely positive. It was like the Tanfoglio (in more ways than one, obviously)...but even better. I was sold. Picked up the BE9915R full sized 9mm in black steel. So now we are gun owners - signed up for Basic Pistol (it will be a refresher for her) to be followed by Home Defense course. Although I can't wait to get the the range to try these out, we are going to do it right - I have read the manuals front to back, practiced safety check procedures, dis-assembly and re-assembly, so that by class time and range time I will be as comfortable with my new responsibility as I can.

If you read all of this, thanks for your patience. This is a big step for us, and I look forward to learning and living. Peace through strength. Thanks, all.